Refill a prescription

Innovative therapy helps
toddler swallow trouble-free

With help from Sanford Health Speech Pathologist Tracey Lockrem,
right, and an innovative treatment called VitalStim, Addison Ereth
has been able to overcome swallowing troubles that once
hampered her ability to eat.

Eating has become a completely
different experience for three-year-old
Addison Ereth and her parents,
Shawnda and Dana. “It’s no longer scary,”
said her mother, Shawnda Ereth. “Every
time she ate or drank, we had to keep a
close eye on her in case she started
choking. Even then, we couldn’t prevent it
from happening. We just had to be
prepared to deal with it if it did.”

Thanks to VitalStim, a swallowing
therapy offered at Sanford Health, Addison
no longer has the symptoms of dysphasia, a
disorder of swallowing.

Dysphagia is caused by conditions that
weaken or damage the muscles and nerves
used for swallowing. Addison, a triplet, was
born four months prematurely and suffered
a brain bleed when she was two days old.
The neurological problems that resulted
affected her left side as well as her ability
to swallow.

“By the time she was eight months old,
we knew she had problems swallowing
which we assumed were related to reflux,”
her mother said. “She would start choking
on her own saliva or reflux. It wasn’t only
after eating.”

It was at eight months the infant’s
choking caused her to quit breathing. The
Ereths called 911, and Addison was
hospitalized for several days.

Addison also sounded “rattly,” Ereth said,
as if she always had a cold. “She started
choking on a daily basis and most times
would vomit to clear her throat,” she said.
“After that she didn’t want to continue
eating. By the time she was two, she was
embarrassed and scared by it.”

The increasing frequency of the choking episodes also caused anxiety for the parents anytime
a sitter or family member would watch Addison.

“VitalStim involves using specially designed electrodes to stimulate the specific muscles and
nerves in the throat which control swallowing,” Lockrem said. “While the electrodes are in place,
the patient eats and drinks to practice swallowing. The therapy helps exercise the muscles during
natural movements, making them stronger.”

This innovative therapy is used for a variety of disorders or medical conditions which cause
swallowing disorders including stroke, cerebral palsy, traumatic

“Swallowing disorders are mainly prevalent in the elderly, but we’re beginning to identify an
increase in children who are born prematurely or have other physical conditions,” Lockrem said.

Addison started therapy with thickened liquids. After 16 sessions, all symptoms are gone.
She is eating all foods without choking or gagging and no longer has a gurgle in her voice.

“Without VitalStim, eating for Addison would not be the pleasurable experience we all know,”
Lockrem said. “She may have continued to have some gagging and choking as she grew older,
which would have eventually become behavioral issues. There would also have been concerns
about weight gain and upper respiratory infections, too.”

Ereth said the improvements came gradually. “One day I realized a week had gone by without
her vomiting,” she said. “I couldn’t even tell you the last time I heard any rattling.”

She sums up the results as “amazing.”

“It has put us at a level of ease we never had before,” she said.

The couple does home physical and occupational therapies with their triplets and did try
some swallowing exercises at home without much success. “We never would have been able to
get Addison to where she is now without VitalStim,” Ereth said.

Addison and her brother Bennett receive therapies at Sanford Health. “I’m thrilled with all
the therapists and the improvements the kids have made, particularly Addison,” Ereth said.
“She has exceeded everybody’s expectations.”

She is also grateful this specialized therapy was available locally. “We had the utmost faith in
Tracey,” she said. “We couldn’t have received better care anywhere else.”

Click here for more information about VitalStim or other children's therapies available at the Sanford Rehabilitation Center or call 701.323.6097.